i'll agree that rustoleam is perfect for painting buses....but i prefer the "commercial" by the gallon cans of rustoleam. However, i'm pretty sure it's oil based, not an alkyd. I used alkyd based paint on my first skoolie.....some months later i scraped off what was left of it and repainted with rustoleam.

also, acetone is your friend. I think it works much better than mineral spirits for thinning rustoleam.

spending the extra $$ on automotive clearcoat when you're finished is well worth it. makes it extra shiny, and more importantly keeps it looking that way for a long long time.

Gotcha. I'll re-read it yet again.... I guess my main question here is if Ace Hardware "Rust-whatever-it-is" is the same kind of paint as Rustoleum. I note that the Ace brand sez "alkyd" on the side of the can while Rustoleum does not. I also note that several commenters here have had serious problems with alkyd paints.

Perhaps you were thinking "latex", which is water-based paint. You can test a paint to see if it is water-based or oil-based. All you need is a few drops of the stuff. If you can clean up a drop of it with water, it is water-based paint. If water just makes a mess of that drop, you have oil/alkyd paint.

Ace Hardware Rust Stop is reported to be "generic Rustoleum". I used it on my first bus, but didn't keep that bus long enough to say anything about durability.

After much searching and reading on this site, I have decided to go with True Value X-O Rust, with Rustoleum Hammer Finish paint for the trim. It seems that everyone has been happy with those choices. Now I just have to decide on the colors (probably a gray/silver/black scheme) and wait for a couple of warm spring days!

In the meantime, I am working on the interior paint. I have been using X-O Rust primer, then Rustoleum, and am happy with the results of both of those.

I still have no idea what I'm going to do with the interior, but I'm not worried about it at this point... it will come to me one of these days!

That paint Lapeer is talking dried fast because of the xylene. It's a much "hotter" chemical reaction. The painter I used to use on our jobs would use xylene instead of mineral spirits because it sped up the drying process and made for more coats faster. Powerful stuff.

Hey Wccawa nice to meet you. Maybe I can help with your luggage door not opening problem. I had the same problem and it was a real head scratcher. that is If you have the same boxes as I do and they use small cable ran to each out board latch. Use one of the boxes that does open to get measurement of where the outboard latches are exactly. Then go under the bus and drill a small 1/4 inch hole in the nonopening box to push the latch headon with a small screwdriver. Also these small holes will come in very handy while readjusting the cables. Hope it works good luck.

Nice to meet you as well, and thanks for the advice!

I can lift the latch part-way, and I can here the little latches moving somewhat, but there must be something gummed up somewhere.

I'm gonna try the drill trick and will let you know what happens.

And to reprobate... thanks for the tip on xylene. That sounds like a real winner, especially in my climate. The problem here is it's so cool, it takes literally forever for anything to dry. Xylene might just be the ticket!

I've come to the conclusion that the "grinder" method of getting seats out is far inferior to the "vise grips" method.

This afternoon, I knocked out 8 seats with vise grips underneath, and am about 1/3 of the way through. If I had an assistant, I would have had them ALL out within a couple of hours. It's simply the way to go. At least a third of the bolts broke off, making things even easier.

I WILL say this, though. There is nothing more pleasing to the ear than hearing those vise grips PLUNK to the ground when the nut has given way. It's just heaven!

In the meantime, I have a rear heater just hanging there, and I'm wondering what to do with it. I'm thinking of replumbing a bit of coolant line and putting it right up against the rear left of the bus. My floor plans are taking shape, at least in my mind, and I think that would be a good place for it.

Speaking of learning things... I've found it absolutely amazing that you can pour a glass of wine in the evening, sit in the driver seat, and just LOOK. Just stare at the whole thing. You see what is, what can be, and what might not. The whole thing kind of takes shape as you just, well... SIT.

I can not over-emphasize the importance of just sitting and looking. It took me three weeks to come up with a basic floor plan, just by sitting and looking!

And I finally got that stubborn side compartment to open. Two bolts held the pivot arm on both sides. I undid the bolts, lifted out the door, and voila! Open space!

And to my amazement, not a speck of rust showed itself. That thing had been sealed up for over three years. It was simply a matter of cable adjustment...

Anyway, things are coming along nicely. I'll post some pics soon, as I have been keeping a photo diary. EDIT: I've uploaded two "in progress" pictures.